It is a 2+1⁄2-story wood-frame structure, with a gabled roof, interior brick chimneys, and a clapboarded exterior.

Its bays on three sides are articulated by two-story Doric pilasters, which rise to an entablature below the cornice.

[2] The house was built in about 1840 and is one of the city's oldest Greek Revival buildings.

[2] It was built for Orson Wells, who first settled in North Adams in the 1810s and established an acid production facility nearby.

[3] The Welles were also involved in textile production that developed in nearby Braytonville.